Reference: Meals
American
See EATING.
Easton
are at the present day "eaten from a round table little higher than a stool, guests sitting cross-legged on mats or small carpets in a circle, and dipping their fingers into one large dish heaped with a mixture of boiled rice and other grain and meat. But in the time of our Lord, and perhaps even from the days of Amos (Am 6:4,7), the foreign custom had been largely introduced of having broad couches, forming three sides of a small square, the guests reclining at ease on their elbows during meals, with their faces to the space within, up and down which servants passed offering various dishes, or in the absence of servants, helping themselves from dishes laid on a table set between the couches." Geikie's Life of Christ. (Comp. Lu 7:36-50.) (See Abraham's bosom; Banquet; Feast.)
Illustration: Roman Triclinium
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One of the Pharisees asked him to have dinner with him, and he went to the Pharisee's house and took his place at the table. Now there was a woman in the town who was leading a sinful life, and when she learned that he was having dinner at the Pharisee's house, she got an alabaster flask of perfume, read more. and came and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with her hair, and kissed them, and put the perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet, he would know who and what the woman is who is touching him, for she leads a wicked life." Jesus answered him, and said to him, "Simon, there is something I want to say to you." He said, "Proceed, Master." "Two men were in debt to a money-lender. One owed him a hundred dollars and the other ten. As they could not pay him, he canceled what they owed him. Now which of them will be more attached to him?" Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled most." "You are right," he said. And turning to the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came to your house; you did not give me any water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but from the moment I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put any oil upon my head, but she has put perfume upon my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her sins, many as they are, are forgiven, for she has loved me so much. But the man with little to be forgiven loves me but little." And he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven!" The men at table with him began to say to themselves, "Who is this man, who even forgives sins?" But he said to the woman, "It is your faith that has saved you. Go in peace."
Fausets
The ariston, often translated "dinner," is rather breakfast or luncheon (Mt 22:4); Lu 14:12 "a dinner (breakfast or luncheon) or a supper" (deipnon, a late dinner). The principal Egyptian meal was at noon (Ge 43:16); but the Jews' chief meal at even (Ge 19:1-3, Lot; Ru 3:7, Boaz). Israel ate bread or manna in the morning, flesh in the evening (Ex 16:12); the Passover supper in the evening confirms this. The ancient Hebrew sat at meals (Ge 27:19; Jg 19:6), but not necessarily on a chair, which was reserved as a special dignity (2Ki 4:10). Reclining on couches was latterly the posture at meals (Am 6:4); Am 3:12 says, "dwell in the corner of a bed," i.e. the inner corner where the two sides of the divan meet, the place of dignity (Pusey), "and in Damascus (in) a couch"; not as Gesenius "on a damask couch," for Damascus was then famed for the raw material "white wool" (Eze 27:18), not yet for damask.
Derived from the Syrians, Babylonians, and Persians (Es 1:6; 7:8). For "tables," Mr 7:4, translated "couches"; and for "sitting at meat" in New Testament translated everywhere "reclining." As three were generally on one couch, one lay or "leaned" on another's bosom, as John did on Jesus' chest. Such a close position was chosen by friends, and gave the opportunity of confidential whispering, as when John asked who should betray Jesus (Joh 13:23-25). Ordinarily, three couches (the highest, the middle, and the lowest) formed three sides of a square, the fourth being open for the servants to bring the dishes. On each couch there was the highest, the middle and the lowest guest. "The uppermost room" desired by the Pharisees was the highest seat on the highest couch (Mt 23:6). Females were not as now in the East secluded from the males at meals, as the cases of Ruth among the reapers (Ru 2:14), Elkanah with his wives (1Sa 1:4), Job's sons and daughters (Job 1:4) show.
The women served the men (Lu 10:40; Joh 12:2). The blessing of the food by thanks to the Giver preceded the meal; the only Old Testament instance is 1Sa 9:13. Our Lord always did so (Mt 15:36; Joh 6:11); so Paul (Ac 27:35), confirming precept (1Ti 4:3-4) by practice. De 8:10 implies the duty of grace at the close of a meal. A bread sop held between the thumb and two fingers was dipped into the melted grease in a bowl, or into a dish of meat, and a piece taken out. To hand a friend a delicate morsel was esteemed a kindly act. So Jesus to Judas, treating him as a friend, which aggravates his treachery (Joh 13:18,26; Ps 41:9). Geier, in Poli Synopsis, translated Pr 19:24 "a slothful man hides his hand in the "dish" (tsaliachat) and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again"; KJV means the cavity in the bosom like a dish. Great feasts were held at the end of each third year (De 14:28) when the Levite, stranger, fatherless, and widow were invited (compare Lu 14:12-13; Ne 8:10-12).
After a previous invitation, on the day of the feast a second was issued to intimate all was ready (Es 5:8; 6:14; Mt 22:3-4). The guests were received with a kiss; water for the feet, ointment for the person, and robes were supplied (Lu 7:38-45). The washing of hands before meals was indispensable for cleanliness, as the ringers were their knives and forks, and all the guests dipped into the same dish (Mt 26:23). The Pharisees overlaid this with a minute and burdensome ritual (Mr 7:1-13). Wreaths were worn on the head: Isa 28:1, where the beauty of Samaria is the "fading flower on the head of the fat valleys." Its position on the brow of a hill made the comparison appropriate. Hebraism for "woe to the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim" (Horsley).
Its people were generally drunken revelers literally, and metaphorically like such were rushing on their own ruin (Isa 28:7-8; 5:11-22; Am 4:1; 6:1-6). The nation would perish as the drunkard's soon fading wreath. A "governor of the feast" (architriklinos, the Greek sumposiarchees, the Latin magister convivii) superintended, tasting the food and liquors, and settling the order and rules of the entertainment (Joh 2:8). The places were assigned according to the respective rank (Ge 43:33; 1Sa 9:22; Lu 14:8; Mr 12:39). Drinking revels were called mishteh (the komos of the Greeks, Latin comissatio), 1Sa 25:36. Condemned by the prophets (Isa 5:11; Am 6:6) and apostles (Ro 13:13; Ga 5:21; Eph 5:18; 1Pe 4:3).
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and he took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks and he broke them in pieces and gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
And he sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, and they would not come. He sent other slaves a second time, and said to them, 'Tell those who have been asked, "Here I have my banquet all ready, my bullocks and fat cattle are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!" '
He sent other slaves a second time, and said to them, 'Tell those who have been asked, "Here I have my banquet all ready, my bullocks and fat cattle are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!" '
and they like the best places at dinners and the front seats in the synagogues,
He answered, "The man who just dipped his hand in the same dish with me is going to betray me.
The Pharisees gathered about him with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem. They had noticed that some of his disciples ate their food without first giving their hands a ceremonial washing to purify them. read more. For the Pharisees and all the Jews observe the rules handed down from their ancestors, and will not eat until they have washed their hands in a particular way, and they will not eat anything from the market without first purifying it by sprinkling it, and they have a number of other observances which have come down to them, in the way of washing cups, pitchers, and basins.
and they will not eat anything from the market without first purifying it by sprinkling it, and they have a number of other observances which have come down to them, in the way of washing cups, pitchers, and basins. And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not observe the rules handed down by our ancestors, but eat food without purifying their hands?" read more. But he said to them, "It was about you hypocrites that Isaiah prophesied so finely, in the words, " 'This people honor me with their lips, Yet their hearts are far away from me. But their worship of me is all in vain, For the lessons they teach are but human precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded and hold fast to what men have handed down. "How skilful you are," he said to them, "in nullifying what God has commanded in order to observe what has been handed down to you. For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever abuses his father or mother must be put to death.' But you say, 'If a man says to his father or mother, "Anything of mine that might have been of use to you is Korban," ' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother, and so you nullify what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many such practices."
and to have the front seats in the synagogues and the best places at dinners??40 men that eat up widows' houses and to cover it up make long prayers! They will get a far heavier sentence!"
and came and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with her hair, and kissed them, and put the perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were really a prophet, he would know who and what the woman is who is touching him, for she leads a wicked life." read more. Jesus answered him, and said to him, "Simon, there is something I want to say to you." He said, "Proceed, Master." "Two men were in debt to a money-lender. One owed him a hundred dollars and the other ten. As they could not pay him, he canceled what they owed him. Now which of them will be more attached to him?" Simon answered, "The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled most." "You are right," he said. And turning to the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came to your house; you did not give me any water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but from the moment I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.
But Martha was worried with all she had to do for them, and she came up and said, "Master, does it make no difference to you that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me."
"When someone invites you to a wedding supper, do not take the best place, for someone more distinguished than you are may have been invited,
And he said to the man who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, for then they will invite you in return and you will be repaid.
And he said to the man who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, for then they will invite you in return and you will be repaid. But when you give an entertainment, invite people who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind.
So they filled them full. And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast."
Then Jesus took the loaves, and gave thanks, and distributed them among the people who were resting on the ground, and in the same way as much of the fish as they wanted.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha waited on them, while Lazarus was at the table with him.
I do not mean all of you; I know whom I have chosen; but let the Scripture be fulfilled: " 'He who is eating my bread Has raised his heel against me.'
Next to Jesus, at his right at the table, was one of his disciples whom Jesus especially loved. So Simon Peter nodded to him and said to him, "Tell us whom he means." read more. He leaned back from where he lay, on Jesus' breast, and said to him, "Master, who is it?" Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I am going to give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So he dipped the piece of bread and took it and gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot's son.
With these words he took some bread and after thanking God for it before them all, he broke it in pieces and began to eat it.
Let us live honorably, as in the light of day, not in carousing and drunkenness, or in immorality and indecency, or in quarreling and jealousy.
envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you as I did before that people who do such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God.
Do not get drunk on wine, for that is profligacy, but be filled with the Spirit,
who forbid people to marry and insist on abstinence from certain kinds of food that God created for men who believe and understand the truth to enjoy and give thanks for. For everything God has created is good, and nothing need be refused, provided it is accepted with thanksgiving,
Hastings
In the art. Food attention was confined to the various articles of diet supplied by the vegetable and animal kingdoms. It now remains to study the methods by which these were prepared for the table, the times at which, and the manner in which, they were served.
1. Preparation of food.
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But she, at her mother's instigation, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter!"
And his head was brought back on a platter and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother.
and he took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks and he broke them in pieces and gave them to his disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
And he sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, and they would not come. He sent other slaves a second time, and said to them, 'Tell those who have been asked, "Here I have my banquet all ready, my bullocks and fat cattle are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!" '
He sent other slaves a second time, and said to them, 'Tell those who have been asked, "Here I have my banquet all ready, my bullocks and fat cattle are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!" '
But when the king came in to view the guests, he saw among them a man who did not have on wedding clothes.
and they like the best places at dinners and the front seats in the synagogues,
He answered, "The man who just dipped his hand in the same dish with me is going to betray me.
He answered, "The man who just dipped his hand in the same dish with me is going to betray me.
Judas, who betrayed him, said, "Can it be I, Master?" He said to him, "You are right!"
And he went up to her, and grasping her hand, he made her rise. And the fever left her, and she waited on them.
For the Pharisees and all the Jews observe the rules handed down from their ancestors, and will not eat until they have washed their hands in a particular way,
He said to them, "It is one of the Twelve, who is dipping his bread in the same dish with me.
and came and stood behind him at his feet, weeping, and began to wet his feet with her tears, and she wiped them with her hair, and kissed them, and put the perfume on them.
And turning to the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came to your house; you did not give me any water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but from the moment I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.
But Martha was worried with all she had to do for them, and she came up and said, "Master, does it make no difference to you that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me."
The Pharisee noticed that he did not wash before the meal, and he was surprised. But the Master said to him, "You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.
and when the dinner hour came, he sent around his slave, to say to those who were invited, 'Come! for it is now ready!'
and when the dinner hour came, he sent around his slave, to say to those who were invited, 'Come! for it is now ready!'
But his elder son was in the field. When he came in and approached the house, he heard music and dancing,
"What man among you, if he has a servant ploughing or keeping sheep, will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come at once and sit down at the table,'
His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you." Now there were six stone water jars there, for the ceremonial purification practiced by the Jews, each large enough to hold twenty or thirty gallons.
So they filled them full. And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast." And they did so. When the master of the feast tasted the water which had now turned into wine, without knowing where it had come from??hough the servants who had drawn the water knew??10 he called the bridegroom and said to him, "Everyone else serves his good wine first, and his poorer wine after people have drunk deeply, but you have kept back your good wine till now!"
Next to Jesus, at his right at the table, was one of his disciples whom Jesus especially loved.
Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I am going to give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So he dipped the piece of bread and took it and gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot's son.
Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared to ask him who he was, for they knew it was the Master. Jesus went and got the bread and gave it to them, and the fish also.
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, are you more devoted to me than these others are?" Peter said to him, "Yes, Master, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Then feed my lambs!"
With these words he took some bread and after thanking God for it before them all, he broke it in pieces and began to eat it.
Smith
Meals.
Our information on the subject of meals is but scanty. The early Hebrews do not seem to have given special names to their several meals, for the terms rendered "dine" and "dinner" in the Authorized Version (
) are in reality general expressions, which might more correctly be rendered "eat" and "portion of food." In the New Testament "dinner" and "supper,"
Lu 14:12; Joh 21:12
are more properly "breakfast" and "dinner." There is some uncertainty as to the hours at which meals were taken; the Egyptians undoubtedly took their principal mean at noon,
laborers took a light meal at that time.
comp. ver. Ruth 2:17 The Jews rather followed the custom that prevails among the Bedouins, and made their principal meal after sunset, and a lighter meal at about 9 or 10 A.M. The old Hebrews were in the habit of sitting.
Ge 27:19; Jg 19:6; 1Sa 20:5,24; 1Ki 13:20
The table was in this case but slightly elevated above the ground, as is still the case in Egypt. As luxury increased, the practice of sitting was exchanged for that of reclining was the universal custom. As several guests reclined on the same couch, each overlapped his neighbor, as it were, and rested his head on or near the breast of the one who lay behind him; he was then said to "lean on the bosom" of his neighbor.
Joh 13:23; 21:20
The ordinary arrangement of the couches was in three sides of a square, the fourth being left open for the servants to bring up the dishes. Some doubt attends the question whether the females took their meals along with the males. Before commencing the meal the guests washed their hands. This custom was founded on natural decorum: not only was the hand the substitute for our knife and for, but the hands of all the guests were dipped into one and the same dish. Another preliminary step was the grace or blessing, of which we have but one instance in the Old Testament --
--and more than one pronounced by our Lord himself in the new Testament --Matt 15:36; Luke 9:16; John 6:11 The mode of taking the food differed in no material point from the modern usages of the East. Generally there was a single dish, into which each gue
Occasionally separate portions were served out to each.
A piece of bread was held between the thumb and two fingers of the right hand, and was dipped either into a bowl of melted grease (in which case it was termed "a sop,")
Joh 13:26
or into the dish of meat, whence a piece was conveyed to the mouth between the layers of bread. At the conclusion of the meal, grace was again said in conformity with
De 8:10
and the hands were again washed. On state occasions more ceremony was used, and the meal was enlivened in various ways. A sumptuous repast was prepared; the guests were previously invited,
and on the day of the feast a second invitation was issued to those that were bidden.
The visitors were received with a kiss,
Lu 7:45
water was furnished for them to wash their feet with,
Lu 7:44
the head, the beard, the feet, and sometimes the clothes, were perfumed with ointment,
Ps 23:5; Joh 12:3
on special occasions robes were provided,
and the head was decorated with wreaths.
The regulation of the feast was under the superintendence of a special officer,
Joh 2:8
(Authorized Version "governor of the feast"), whose business it was to taste the food and the liquors before they were placed on the table, and to settle about the toasts and amusements; he was generally one of the guests, Ecclus. 32:1,2, and might therefore take part in the conversation. The places of the guests were settled according to their respective rand,
portions of food were placed before each,
the most honored guests receiving either larger,
or more choice,
portions than the rest. The meal was enlivened with music, singing and dancing,
or with riddles,
and amid these entertainments the festival was prolonged for several days.
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And he sent his slaves to summon those who had been invited to the banquet, and they would not come. He sent other slaves a second time, and said to them, 'Tell those who have been asked, "Here I have my banquet all ready, my bullocks and fat cattle are killed, and everything is ready. Come to the banquet!" '
But when the king came in to view the guests, he saw among them a man who did not have on wedding clothes.
He answered, "The man who just dipped his hand in the same dish with me is going to betray me.
and to have the front seats in the synagogues and the best places at dinners??40 men that eat up widows' houses and to cover it up make long prayers! They will get a far heavier sentence!"
And turning to the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came to your house; you did not give me any water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but from the moment I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.
And he said to the man who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, for then they will invite you in return and you will be repaid.
So they filled them full. And he said to them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast."
And Mary took a pound of choice perfume, very costly, and poured it on Jesus' feet, and then wiped his feet with her hair, and the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Next to Jesus, at his right at the table, was one of his disciples whom Jesus especially loved.
Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I am going to give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." So he dipped the piece of bread and took it and gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot's son.
Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared to ask him who he was, for they knew it was the Master.
Peter turned and saw following them the disciple who was very dear to Jesus, who at the supper leaned back on Jesus' breast and said, "Master, who is it that is going to betray you?"